Shopping Bear Naked and the Key to Affording Organic Living

When we say that we live organically on a very small budget, many people ask us how. We look at the large picture, not just our food costs. We consider how much money we can save hanging our laundry out to dry vs using the dryer. We spend more for light bulbs that will lower our electricity cost and last longer. We don't eat out. The average American family eats out 5 times a week! That's a lot of money wasted!

That being said, our approach to shopping makes a huge impact in our ability to buy organic, non-processed food.

First, we only shop twice monthly. We're firm believers that the more often you walk into a store, the more money overall you will spend. Second, we keep a running list of what we will need. As I cook, Jamie, who is usually writing at the kitchen table, writes down the items I mention, most which are food staples. Third, I create meal plans that incorporate the food we already have and determine if there are any additional items we may need to purchase.

My meal plans are taken from internet databases of recipes which I evaluate based on 1) the nutritional value breakdown (proteins, fats, vitamins, etc 2) the number of ingredients needed 3) the time it will take to prepare the meal from scratch.

Next I sub divide the items by the department (produce, dairy, etc). This makes for a quick trip, in and out of the store, so we are not tempted to buy other items.

Its important to note that we never coupon shop. Coupons are usually for processed name brand food items. We would end up buying items that we don't need, and we can't afford to do that. We rarely buy anything that is not on our list unless we find an amazing deal on something we couldn't otherwise afford.

When shopping day comes, its on like Donkey Cong. We get excited, because for us, it is like a treasure hunt. We shop at salvage grocery stores first. We ♥ salvage grocery stores.

Within a 15 mile radius of our home, we have found four salvage grocery stores that we really like. Birdbath's was a huge discovery for us and I had to hug the guy. McCoy's, The Savvy Shopper, and Birdbath's is pictured. The amount we save buying overstock or slightly damaged items, is unbelievable. To give you an idea, we took photos of our trip, including individual items, to show you retail cost at big box stores and what we paid.

This is just a VERY small sampling of items we purchased. We also found organic tomato sauce for 50 cents each, Starbucks coffee for $2.99, all natural blackberry preserves for $1.29, and Stash Brand hot teas for 99 cents per box (we drink gallons of hot tea). Our carrots were even organic and only 49 cents a bag! Organic broth was only 99 cents. Our finds were not just limited to food items.

Below are just some of the great non-food items we found:

Although great in the kitchen, we use it as a lotion

Our biggest surprise was dog and cat food! Normally Jamie purchases 4 Health Grain Free Brand Pet Food at Tractor Supply. When she saw these premium foods that were cheap only because they had been cut open with a box cutter and taped, we grabbed them and mixed them in with the food we already feed. My babies LOVED it.

We also went to a new grocery store in our area called Aldi's. There we were able to purchase plantains for 25 cents each, a 4 lb bag of naval oranges for $1.69, and avocados for 49 cents each. Mushrooms were 79 cents for an 8 oz container. A 16.9 fl oz extra virgin olive oil was only $2.99.

Our final stop was Krogers where we purchased a couple small things we had yet to find. Their Simply Truth Natural Cage Free, Grain Free Fed Eggs are $1 cheaper than most area stores.  We even filled up our gas tank with our Kroger points for $1.59 a gallon! 

We calculated what it costs for us daily to eat keeping in mind that I cook most of our meals from scratch and that our weight training can boost our caloric needs. The cost was about $6 per day per person. So $12 total per day to eat organic, home cooked meals. 

Although salvage grocery stores are filled with processed junk foods, we have learned the importance of by passing those for healthy food staples, and we save money because we do. We eat well and we eat healthy. Drinking only water and hot tea means we don't spend money on sodas and can afford the protein shakes we need before and after workouts.

While some believe that organic living is expensive, we've been able to show that it can be done on a budget. Its all a matter of priorities. Many people refer to our hippy way of living as simple. It is not. It takes work and planning. It means researching and making meal plans, being willing to shop in several stores instead of one, shopping the healthy perimeter of the grocery store and ignoring the unhealthy processed food in the middle. Sundays are spent as prep day. I make many of our meals for the week, our protein bars, dog treats, and home made cleaning products.

But it is SO worth it. We hope that by living this way, we will be here for one another for a very long time.  That means everything to us. 

To give you the big picture of what we came home with after our shopping trip, here's the photos:

AND the back seat was full!

For more pictures of some of the items available at salvage grocery stores (some which we didn't buy but thought were awesome prices), see our Facebook page HERE.

In upcoming blog articles, we will cover additional cost saving measures to help you lead an affordable, healthy life. Don't miss it!